Holden Commodore SS v Subaru Impreza WRX 2007 Comparison

For more than a decade, Subaru's WRX and Holden's SS Commodore have met on the battlefield of affordable exhilaration. Conceived on different continents and diametrically opposed in the philosophy of the performance car, they nonetheless represent just about the best bang for your buck on the planet. So, you've got $45K burning a hole in your pocket - is it to be the home-grown V8 bruiser or the turbo all-wheel-drive ninja?

The VE Commodore SS needs little introduction. Rear-drive, 270kW 6.0-litre V8 and our reigning Car of The Year. The WRX, on the other hand, has come to the party with a whole new set of moves. The mantra has been rewritten. Gone is the rawness; the single-minded and unapologetic dynamic focus. It's now a car for the masses, a hatch devised to appeal to the mainstream and attract a broader audience. This means a bigger, roomier, more refined and safer Impreza.

Beneath the controversial new hatch body, Subaru has undertaken a thorough engineering overhaul. The new chassis has been reinforced with high-tensile steel, improving the body structure's torsional stiffness. Despite this, the new car weighs in at 1395kg, 35kg less than its forebear. So, both lighter and stronger - a promising start. The suspension layout has also been revamped. At the rear, the previous multi-link set-up has been replaced by a compact double-A-arm arrangement. This layout impinges less on boot space, creating a wider and larger luggage area, and Subaru engineers claim if offers tighter control of toe, camber and castor angles. Traction, a staple of the Rex dynamic repertoire, hasn't been ignored, either, with new, viscous-coupling LSD fitted to the rear.

The carry-over 2.5-litre boxer four-cylinder also received attention, with a new turbocharger, revised intercooler system, and a new intake manifold feeding charged air into the cylinders. With a smoother power delivery and better economy in mind, an Active Valve Control System (AVCS) alters valve timing and lift on the intake side for the first time. These revisions are aimed at smoothing the rough edges: reducing turbo lag and endowing a more linear power curve. On paper, at least, it looks to have done the trick. Specific outputs are unchanged, but peak torque of 320Nm is now produced 800rpm lower, at 2800. Max power also arrives 400rpm earlier, with 169kW fronting up at 5200rpm.

The next step in attempting to take the WRX upmarket and broaden its appeal was to improve NVH issues. Framed doors appear for the first time on an Impreza to increase refinement, and liquid-filled engine mounts are employed to quell vibrations.

Continue to trawl through the spec sheet and you'll notice the new WRX gets a big shiny gold star for safety. The entire Impreza range has been awarded the maximum five-star ANCAP crash rating, as well as the maximum four-star pedestrian safety rating. Electronic stability control (VDC in Subie speak) is standard, and should the electronic safety net fail to save you, dual front, side and curtain airbags will cushion the impact.

Stepping inside, the first thing you'll notice is, of course, the new interior - the cabin immediately feels more spacious compared to the outgoing model. There's only an extra 41mm of shouler room shared between you and your front passenger, but the car feels half a class bigger. Once you've settled in, take a minute to survey the new surroundings. The slabby, econobox style of the previous Impreza is gone, replaced with a more contemporary treatment. The curving, twin-cowl dash and integrated centre console are a tangible improvement, and the HVAC controls now rotate under hand with a slick action. It's a shame, then, that the quality of materials used is still from the automotive $2 shop.

The dash itself is a hard, brittle plastic, and the doortrims and grab handles a cut-price special. Even the fabric swathed over the seats is coarse. It's a disappointing effort considering the Impreza's upmarket aspirations. The one positive is at least it does feel well built in the traditional Subaru way.

So, it's left to the boofy Holden to show the way in cabin ambience. While certain plastics in the Commodore's cabin, particularly the lower section of the dash, are of a brittle nature, details like the technical-fabric door inserts and twin-dial instrument panel border on classy. Despite the urbane pretensions of the WRX, the SS has a more gratifying cabin.

Many rubbish pushrod engines as obsolete, old-tech dinosaurs, but it's tough to argue with the L98 version of the Gen IV V8 tucked beneath the VE's bonnet. Tractable and primal in equal parts, you can pluck fifth gear on the freeway at 100km/h and the SS will calmly lope along at 2000rpm. Your companion is a muted exhaust rumble, a gentle reminder of the fire and brimstone simmering below the surface. Pulling cleanly and smoothly from that 2000rpm cruising point, 6.0 litres of swept capacity is ignited and the big bent-eight seems to delve inwards and draw grunt from the earth itself. From 4000rpm, it's pulling like a freight train, surging past 4400rpm, the point at which all 530 available Newton metres muster to the call. Then there's that addictive, headlong rush to redline when the full quota of 270kW is invoked at 5700rpm, just 500rpm short of cut-out.

And the turbocharged heart of the WRX? Well, I spent less time buried in the thesaurus searching for adjectives and superlatives. The mechanical upgrades have usefully fattened up low- and mid-range torque, but what the on-paper numbers don't convey is the incredible linearity of the engine. There's no discernible point at which you can feel the turbo spool up. From behind the wheel, the sensation is more akin to a larger-capacity, naturally-aspirated unit, rather than a forced-induction turbo terror. This is both a compliment to the engineers at Subaru and a slight lament. Power now comes on in a gradual, rolling swell, rather than a fierce rush. There's no arguing with the pace generated, though, with the 0-100km/h sprint dispatched in 6.4 seconds - lineball with the best time we achieved with the previous model.

But that's exactly what Subaru is aiming for: a more mature take on performance. And nowhere is this more evident than in terms of refinement. Road, tyre and engine noise are impressively hushed, even on coarse-chip surfaces. It's an area in which the Commodore simply can't match the Japanese contender. The Holden's 18-inch tyres thrum incessantly, penetrating the cabin with a busy whirr. There's also more wind noise inside the Aussie sedan, particularly around the side mirrors, and more general trim chatter in our test vehicle. It's hardly deafening, but holding a conversation in the SS requires a few more decibels. The WRX keeps a tighter lid on aural intrusions.

But what about the sounds you want to hear from a performance car? Like a snarly, rorty exhaust note, perhaps? Tellingly that's also something missing from the WRX. That deep, distinctive throb of the boxer four that's come to characterise the WRX has been largely sacrificed. The 2.5-litre voice hasn't undergone a full laryngectomy, though. As the needle sweeps towards the business end of the tacho, the horizontally-opposed cylinders eventually push out a hard-edged, metallic growl.

Not that the Holden will be taking the stage at the Grammies, either. There's plenty of bellow, but it's lacking the kind of rich, resonant V8 timbre it deserves.

Urban ride quality is another area in which the Commodore is toppled. Seated in the WRX, impacts are smoothed with surprising compliance, ripples blotted like honey pouring over cereal. Corrugated sections shudder through the Holden's chassis and the extra firmness of the springs and dampers is palpable. The Holden's counterpoint though, should you need reminding, is tight body control and response.

There's a solid, fat-tyred feel to the SS. Feed in power and feel the big sedan hunker down over the rear axle. The whole car bunches lower as the big rear Bridgestones squirm into the tarmac, sniffing out grip. Your brain tells you that's enough, you've rattled the monster's cage and now it's time to back off, but your right foot thinks it knows better. Squeeze on a fraction more throttle and the Holden just manages to discover more traction, burrowing deeper into the road and using every last degree of suspension control to railroad you out of corners. The amount of rear-end traction and the sheer drive out of corners the SS can generate is genuinely surprising and deeply impressive.

That's not to imply respect isn't needed - 1790kg of burly sedan can only be taunted so much. Of the two, it's the SS that will get your palms sweating. Despite undeniably high thresholds and clearly telegraphed limits, there's still a barrel-chested V8 with deep wells of power and torque calling the shots, and just two strips of Bridgestone rubber and your own sensibilities to contain it all. Primordial performance reminds you to keep a cool head if you've sent the electronic security team on a break.

Emerging from the SS, I take in the seemingly alien shape of what the WRX has become and wonder what toll comfort and civility have taken on the dynamic abilities of the Rex. You may have faulted the previous model for refinement, ride, and interior presentation (and there was much to fault), but it always felt honed, sharpened; purpose-built to reward and exhilarate. Now, it's judgement day for generation next.

Over a particularly gnarly stretch of sinuous blacktop, the sort of road that demands the utmost of suspension, grip, brakes and driver, both the Subaru and Holden need to shine to prove their mettle as true drivers' cars.

Strafe through a fast, sweeping section of curves and the WRX feels good - very good. The newfound compliance of the suspension soaks up slight crowns and ridges calmly, isolating the body and keeping the show on line. You're very quickly aware that the derivative, ungainly sheetmetal does cloak a competent chassis. Thanks to the new double-wishbone rear suspension, the rear-end takes on a new significance in dynamic proceedings. There's a fresh level of adjustability engineered into the WRX. Attitude can be dictated purely via throttle applications, rewarding a nose-tightening lift mid-corner, or a gentle brush of the brakes to bring the bum into play.

At first it takes your brain a few runs to process and readjust to the car's new dynamic disposition. The softer spring and damper rates inevitably mean more body roll; the car pitching and rolling appreciably through curves. Not alarmingly so, but it's certainly not a graduate of the same iron-gloved school of body control as the previous generation. But once you recalibrate mentally, things start to get fun. Adjust to the roll, exploit the rear-steer element and soon faint, apex-clipping drifts become second nature.

But as the road tightens and the surface deteriorates, so does the WRX's skill set. Divots and potholes are still soaked up without fuss, but large dips and sharp humps prove too much, the dampers struggling to contain the sprung mass on the rebound stroke - occasionally it demands two or three bouncing oscillations to bring the body under control. Instantly you need to wind back and wipe off some pace. The overriding impression in the WRX has gone, well, soft.

Further, the big-bore Commodore trounces the WRX when it comes to steering. While the VE's steering may be too light for some, its crispness and response is beyond reproach. The Holden's tiller is also rewardingly feelsome, offering a constant connection with the front wheels as the steering assembly transfers streams of information to your fingertips.

The Subaru's steering, on the other hand, is a gaping chink in the dynamic armour. Weighting isn't a problem - there's a satisfying heft - but feel and response is lacking. A layer of rubbery isolation means subtle changes at road level and ultimate grip levels are kept a secret. You can lay trust in the fundamentally capable chassis, and the knowledge that Subaru's 50:50 split all-wheel-drive system will serve up reassuring levels of traction. The anodyne and kickback-prone steering, however, is disappointing and sterilises an important element of the press-on drive experience.

The combination of slow steering and overly relaxed suspension also means that the Subey is reluctant to engage in swift directional changes, succumbing to understeer. There's still that tenacious grip, but, again, even this most WRX of traits has been watered down. Gone is the sensation the car is trying to tear chunks from the tarmac in the hunt for traction, and the linearity of the engine manifests itself in the sensation you're now being pulled, rather than fired out of corners.

The SS is undoubtedly the fiercest competitor here. Light the Holden's afterburners and the outright pace it generates can be startling, but it's the visceral response and disciplined control that makes the lasting impression. Yes, the WRX ultimately has the most fool-proof chassis, and in the wet would show the SS a clean pair of hoops. But if you've got a lust for raw connection, the Holden is the one. And before the vocal minority shoots us down with the predictable catcalls of bias and corruption, stop and consider: what other $45K car manages to splice the DNA of a genuine, fire-breathing muscle car with family-friendly space and everyday useability? Where else can you find the urban manners to shuffle around doing the shopping and carting kids, or the relaxed gait to calmly devour freeways in air-conditioned comfort - only to arrive at your destination and cut blistering sub-14 second quarters fresh from the box? Ah, but what about the thirst of a V8, I hear you cry. Sorry to disappoint, but over the course of our test (including running performance numbers), the SS returned 16.2L/100km. The WRX? With less than half the capacity of the Commodore, it still slurped 15.0L/100km.

The latest WRX feels exactly as Subaru claimed it would: more comfortable, more refined and more mature. It's an utterly capable car, possessed of a well-balanced chassis and more than adequate performance. The WRX has never been so user-friendly. But it's lost its soul. In the quest for broader appeal, for more sales and mainstream acceptance, the magic of the WRX has been diluted.

Has the WRX sunk into hot-hatch anonymity? Not quite, but it's dangerously close.

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